Experts agree that premature infants fare better in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) when they’re periodically removed from isolettes so that parents can hold them against their chests (a practice known as kangaroo care).

Can a beautifully designed knit dress use vibration therapy to treat osteoporosis or a slow-to-heal sports injury? Could people benefit from a textile programmed to provide light in response to touch? These are some of the questions that innovative textiles designer and newly appointed Assistant Professor Jesse Asjes explores in her work.